St. Anne's College, Kurunegala
St. Anne's College, Kurunegala, is a Catholic boys' school located in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka. Established by Rev. Fr. Francis Saviour in 1867. Students of St. Anne's College are known as Annites.
School
Location
Situated in central area of Kurunegala, It occupies 12 acres along St. Anne's street, boarded by Holy Family Convent to the east, St. Anne's Cathedral to the west and Maliyadeva College to the north.Administration
The college is funded by Ministry of Education. The principal is the head of the school and is appointed by De La Salle Brothers. Principal is assisted by two vice principals and an assistant principal. The school is divided into primary school and upper school and primary school is coming under a deputy principal. The college educates close to 3000 students in both secondary and primary education. Administration of the college hostel is carried out by the Warden under supervision of the Principal.Since its establishment the main medium of education had been English; however with Sinhala becoming the official language the medium of education was changed to Sinhala. Since 2002 English has been reintroduced as a medium of education at the College. Students may select one of the two mediums after grade 5 in which to conduct their studies.
Admission
Admission to the school is very competitive. Students who qualify requirements can enter to grade 1. Also students can enter through grade 5 government scholarship exam and GCE Ordinary Level in Sri Lanka.Grounds
The school is located in an area of 12 acres where the primary school and the upper school are located. It is equipped with facilities such as science and computer laboratories, class rooms etc. This includes the 'La Salle Auditorium' which is one of the biggest auditorium in the area.Sport plays a major part in school's activities. The school's facilities include a swimming pool and a modern cricket ground, basketball courts within the school premises.
History
The beginning
It was the 1867 which laid the foundation to one of the most famous school in Sri Lanka as "Roman Catholic English School" in Kurunegala. It was initiated by then Parish Priest of Kurunegala church Rev.Fr.Francis Saviour. There were 28 boys and 19 girls enrolled on the first year with two teachers. The medium of the language was only English.But with the intention of putting up a Boys only school "Roman Catholic English School" was transformed to "St Anne's Boys College" in 1881 with the guidance of then Kurunegala Parish Priest Rev.Fr.Adrian Dufo during the term of Apostolic vicariate of Jaffna Bishop Christopher Bonjean. The number of pupils on role in 1881 was 101 and the first Headmaster was Mr B.S. Peterson.
It was on the invitation and recommendation of the late Chevalier C.L.W Perera that The De La Salle Brothers acceding to the request of then Archbishop, assumed duties at St' Anne's College on 1 December 1934 after purchasing the present land of for Rs. 15,000/=. The arrival of the De La Salle Brothers to this royal city, paved the way for the awakening of both discipline and quality education.
Brother Hugh Ferrington, was the first Director of the institution. He formed the Old Boys Association in 1935 and on 9 June of the same year the old Boys Day was inaugurated and then on 1 March 1940,The President Of the Old Boys Association is Attorney at Law, Felician Perera. who is the son of Late Chevalier C.L.W Perera. The first prize giving was held in the open air under the directorship of Brother Casimir Ernest, a Czech Brother.
The foundation stone for the first building was laid in 1941, and the Brothers together with 360 boys and 50 boarders moved into the new uncompleted building in 1942. Brother Theoderet of Mary succeeded Brother Casimir on 20 August 1943. He set up a laboratory and started Science studies.
Golden era
Brother Alban Patrick assumed the directorship in 1946 when the golden era of St. Anne's begins. St. Anne's becomes a Grade 1 School, the only one in the North Western Province in 1947, the results of public examination continues to be the best in the province, the student population rises to 1340 by 1955, the science block is declared open in 1949, which was donated by Chevalier C.L.W. Perera an eminent criminal lawyer of the country who was also a benefactor of the school and who was honored by the pope by a knighthood for the services rendered to the Catholic Church. In the same year the Main block is completed, a Cadet Corps is started in 1952, 1953 marks the rise of the two-storied primary block. By 1954 most of the buildings are completed and the school is in a solid footing.Free education
The implementation of the Free Education Scheme in 1951 opened the door to the Secondary Education for the poorest boys. From 1950 to 1960 Annites did well at the University Entrance and students entered yearly to the various faculties of University.Acquisition by the government
The School take over was in 1960. At first the school opted to remain private. But after struggling to maintain the status for few years the school was handed over to the Government in 1964 during the term of then Director, Brother Edwin Ambrose. Thus the College obtained the status of a Non Fee Levying School. Since then the succeeding Brother Principals attempted to keep up the rising standard of St. Anne's College in spite of the changing educational environment.School Traditions
The College motto is "Possumus", meaning "We Can" in Latin. Although the school is having affiliations with the Catholic Church, it is a secular school with students of all faiths admitted.Old College Anthem
Green, Gold and Blue was the very first College Anthem sung by the students of St. Anne’s College.Bro.Hugh Faringdon introduced this anthem on 21 May 1936.Bro.Director who was well versed in literature and music wrote the lyrics and composed the music of this anthem.Houses
The House system was inaugurated on 10 June 1936 by Bro. Hugh Faringdon. St.John and St. De La Salle were the first two houses. House competition included games, conduct and studies. House Master,Captains,Prefects and Games Captains were elected annually.The students are divided into four Houses:
- – De La Salle House
- – Benildus House
- – Solomon House
- – Miguel House
Sports
Cricket
, the annual Cricket encounter is a prominent sporting event played between two schools in North Western province of Sri Lanka.The cricket match is played between St. Annes College & Maliyadeva College annually at the Welagedara Stadium, Kurunegala. The match is played over two days and the winner is presented with the Trophy. The two day match is followed by a one-day match between the two sides which started in 1992.
The encounter has a long history. However, in certain years, it was not played due to various reasons. The Year 2013 marked the 30th 2-day encounter and 18th limited overs version of Battle of the Rocks.
Principals
Rev. Bro. Hugh Rerrington is the first principal and present principal is Rev.Bro. Ernest Tarcisius. Tradition is a De La Salle brother to become the principal.St. Anne's and other schools
St. Anne's College's maintains an old rivalry with Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala and St. Anne's has a long familial relationship with Holy Family Convent, Kurunegala.Notable alumni
This is a list of notable alumni from St. Anne's College, Kurunegala.| Name | Notability | Reference |
| International Cricketer | ||
| Ceylon Cricketer. | ||
| first-class cricketer | ||
| racing car driver | ||
| racing car driver | ||
| award winning actor | ||
| politician, former Cabinet Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade | ||
| politician, lawyer | ||
| member of Parliament |